City fans will have to find something else to divert them on Thursday nights in the new year.

Not that the Blues’ failure to grab a place in the Europa League will be too upsetting to their fans, even if Roberto Mancini and his players had expressed vague desires to play in the Champions League’s neglected little brother .

Given their form in Europe this season, their lengthy injury list and Dortmund’s proud record of never having lost to an English team on home soil in six attempts, the win needed to grab third place was always a tall order for City.

Real Madrid did their bit with victory over Ajax, which kept the Europa League door open. The Blues just didn’t seem capable, or willing, to go through it, and ended up winless in their six group games.

They need a vast improvement next season – if they qualify – in order to break this cycle of tough draws and European naivety.

In contrast to the first match between these two teams, the start was remarkably sluggish, as if the players couldn’t quite heat the blood on a chill night in Westphalia.

The first half at the Etihad Stadium had been packed with incident – Joe Hart had already made several world-class saves as Robert Lewandowski and Mario Gotze threatened to run riot.

This time Lewandowski was on the bench and Gotze rested, as Dortmund drafted in some of their second string following a testing German ‘Clasico’ against Bayern Munich at the weekend.

City could not make too many changes, with injury and suspension biting deep into their squad – David Silva was left at home, Yaya Toure banned, and elite development squad trio Alex Nimely, George Evans and Courtney Meppen-Walters all made it onto the bench.

Scott Sinclair also came in for his first start since the home draw with Arsenal in September, while Matija Nastasic showed another impressive string to his bow with an accomplished performance at left-back.

The Serbian teenager had played there once before, for Fiorentina a couple of seasons ago, but he looked like a veteran.

The Westfalenstadion is an imposing ground, and the fans here, encouraged by cheap ticketing and a real sense of owning their club, turned out in large numbers for a game that was a dead rubber for them.

The news coming through from Madrid, where Cristiano Ronaldo and Co quickly opened up a two-goal lead over Ajax, meant that a City win would push them into the Europa League, willing or not.

Dortmund, under-strength or not, are formidable in front of their noisy, passionate fans, and they had the first attempt on goal when Oliver Kirch took a pot-shot which Hart plucked out of the air.

City roused from their own hypothermic slumber midway through the half, as Dzeko found space on the left and was played in by Samir Nasri. He trundled his cross across the face of goal, but Carlos Tevez could not quite get there to turn it in.

City’s problem was that Dortmund’s lively counter-attackers were a constant threat whenever they moved forward – and Javi Garcia looked like a man whose confidence has been shot to pieces, or who is struggling to find match sharpness after his injury lay-off. Maybe it is both.

Dzeko forced keeper Roman Weidenfeller to smartly turn a shot round the post, but Dortmund replied through the ever-dangerous Marco Reus, who scored their goal at the Etihad.

Teasing Nastasic out on the City left, Reus was shown the inside by the Serbian – and gladly took it. He fired off a left-foot shot which Hart finger-tipped against the outside of the post.

Dortmund’s momentum was building, and at the start of the second half, they began to test Hart’s credentials once again, as City began in slow motion.

The Blues had the first chance of the half, Nasri crossing deep for Dzeko, but his header was too tame to trouble Weidenfeller.

Dortmund then built up the pressure as Ivan Perisic’s volley forced Hart to touch the ball over and Kevin Grosskreutz forced the England keeper into an even better stop, turning the ball round the post from his low shot.

But there was a growing sense of inevitability, which Roberto Mancini tried to stem by hauling off the anonymous Sinclair and bringing on Sergio Aguero.

Within seconds, Dortmund were ahead. Substitute Jakub Blaszczykowski drifted past Nastasic on the Germans’ right, and crossed to the far post, where Julian Schieber slid in to score.

Mancini acted again, taking off Dzeko and bringing on Mario Balotelli, to deafening whistles from the home crowd. The Italian responded by falling over on his first touch, and being crocked on his second.

But City’s three-pronged attack of Tevez, Aguero and Balotelli set about getting them back in the game. Tevez almost did it alone with a strong, clever run into the heart of the Dortmund box, his shot being smuggled away for a corner.

Mancini then brought on Pablo Zabaleta to counter the threat of Blaszczykowski, switching to three at the back, with Tevez dropping deep into midfield. It worked for a while, Dortmund being penned back, but City continue to show a lack of control and invention in the final third.

Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp upped the ante by putting on Lewandowski to resume his individual battle with Hart from the first game and the City keeper beat away his first on-target effort from an acute angle.

When City finally found a way through at the other end, Barry freeing Aguero, his shot was blocked by Weidenfeller – and that was just about that.

Another disappointing Champions League campaign drew to an inauspicious end – but minds had turned to Sunday’s derby long before this match even kicked off.